Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson is almost ready for Sunday's big show. On Tuesday, she narrowed down selections for her red-carpet look, checked out jewelry, had lunch with her mother and was a presenter at the Costume Designers Guild Awards.

After Monday's Golden Globes, stars stopped in at the various parties in and around the Beverly Hilton Hotel. USA TODAY's Anthony Breznican, Donna Freydkin, William Keck,Claudia Puig and LuzElena Avitia checked out the scene as pairs partied late into the night.

They played a Proust scholar, a CIA operative, a drug-addicted mom trying to reconnect with her child, a novelist with writer's block, a faux journalist, a child predator. For USA TODAY's annual Oscar, Don't Forget story, we asked movie critics to single out some under-the-radar performances that they deem worthy of Academy Awards attention.

As a middle-class Republican who has voted across party lines in the past two presidential elections, I have little fondness for "my" party, which kowtows to big money and the religious right while ignoring the nation's middle class.

Hollywood loves to repeat itself. But studios would rather avoid a sequel to last summer's bummer, when the box office slipped 9%. The fuse is lit and burning for the start of the major moviegoing season, Mission: Impossible III, arriving May 5.

What you see on TV is not what you get offstage during the Academy Awards. USA TODAY's Anthony Breznican manned the wings, getting the stars right after they got their Oscars. Donna Freydkin and William Keck were in the audience, and Bill Keveney and Claudia Puig were backstage on patrol. Susan Wloszczyna pulls it all together.